For the first time in ten seasons, the 49ers rank above 20th in adjusted games loss in 2023.
For what seemed like every year under Kyle Shanahan, the San Francisco 49ers were one of the most injury-prone teams. Even last year, despite making the NFC Championship, the Niners were in the bottom ten for adjusted games lost.
For the first time in ten seasons, the 49ers rank above 20th in adjusted games loss in 2023. In 2022, the 49ers lost a combined 93.9 adjusted games lost. In 2023, that number reduced by nearly three times to 34.5. San Francisco was second on offense with 14.1 AGL, while they were sixth defensively with 20.3 AGL.
What a difference a season makes when your quarterback stays healthy, right? That wasn’t the case in 2022 with Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. If Brock Purdy can stay healthy for a second season in a row, that’ll play into his extension down the line.
Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey all played at least 15 games in 2023. That’s the real reason the 49ers are so high on the list.
When Deebo spoke to Kay Adams on Tuesday, he said, “People just say ‘there’s always next year,’ but I heard that in 2019, and it took four more years to get where we are. It’s not that easy as people think to get to the Super Bowl. It takes everything—me, the coaches, the guys upstairs. You’re not just going to snap your hands and use this magic trick to be in the Super Bowl again. It’s harder than people think.”
Injuries compound that issue to reach the team goal. The toughest pill to swallow for the 49ers is knowing the odds are against the likelihood of their core star players all staying healthy for an entire season again.
The Seattle Seahawks, albeit under a new regime, moved on from their 30-year-old starters on Tuesday in the secondary. As the Niners approach a similar situation over the next couple of seasons, will they do the same for their team captains?
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